CIAO DATE: 06/2013
June 2013
"The Elephant in the Room" shows how organized crime–once considered a problem isolated to a few, mostly urban, communities–has become globalized and now affects a wide range of the UN’s activities, including the maintenance of international peace and security. It describes how crime has become a serious threat in almost every theater where the UN has peace operations, and juxtaposes this with an analysis of mission mandates which contain few operational references to crime. Case studies based on field research in Haiti, Guinea-Bissau, and Kosovo show the impact of organized crime on stability, governance, and development and demonstrate the challenges faced by the international community in helping states to deal with this problem. The report argues that unless peace operations can identify and deal with spoilers involved in illicit activities at an early stage, better assess conflict economies, and disrupt illicit markets, organized crime will continue to flourish in theaters where peace operations are deployed–hindering their operability and the very development, security, and justice that the UN seeks to promote.
Resource link: The Elephant in the Room: How Can Peace Operations Deal with Organized Crime? [PDF]